Tighter control at toll plazas to monitor interstate travel in Malaysia
The Royal Malaysia Police is keeping a tight control at toll plazas in the capital and at state borders via roadblocks to monitor interstate movement to help curb Covid-19 infections which stood at over 2,000 daily cases over the past few days. Bukit Aman Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department director Datuk Azisman Alias said his department had tightened interstate movement following the instruction of the Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani. “Currently, interstate travel is being tightened at toll plazas. Apart from that, interstate travel is still controlled at state border entrances with roadblocks under the administration of the respective state police chiefs,” he said. Interstate movements for employment, medical, and educational purposes are only allowed from Monday to Thursday. Interstate movements for social purposes such as attending wedding receptions and any other types of functions and banquets are prohibited. Interstate travel for emergency and bereavement purposes would only involved immediate family members, namely parents, children and siblings. (Malay Mail)
HIL Industries in four joint ventures to undertake residential development in Selangor
Amverton Prop Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of HIL Industries Bhd has entered into four conditional joint venture agreements (JVAs) to undertake residential development on five parcels of land in Sungai Buloh, Klang and Jugra in Selangor. HIL said the JVAs were entered with Unik Sejati Sdn Bhd, Pembinaan Kesentosaan Sdn Bhd and Amverton Carey Golf & Island Resort Sdn Bhd, involving a total of 41.60 hectares. “The group’s property business will be centred in Klang Valley. The group will continue to source and look out for opportunities to obtain more development land within Klang Valley to ensure the continuous growth of its property business,” it said. “The group is expected to generate an estimated gross development profit (GDP) (after deducting the estimated gross development cost (GDC) and Landowners’ Entitlement) of RM96.1 million from the proposed joint ventures,” HIL added. (The Star)
Real estate remains the focus of buyers
The local property market remained the focus of buyers during the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) for the second time in the country. According to the country manager of a property portal, although 75% of construction in Malaysia was affected last year, the property market in the country still has appeal among buyers through virtual platforms. “The extended period of the MCO also saw the rise in popularity of virtual tours as one of the primary tools for sellers and buyers, with one in three Malaysians expressing intent to continue with property purchases this year,” he said. Malaysia’s property market has proven to be quite sustainable, despite experiencing a flat growth during the Covid-19 pandemic in the past 12 months. He added that the pandemic is a blessing in disguise as it brought background issues of the property market to the forefront to be given more focus by developers and the government. This includes the issues of oversupply involving the office space segment. Now, developers in the commercial side have taken a few steps back and stop any new office development. Affordable housing is given more attention as the authorities and developers re-evaluate actions needed to be taken. (The Malaysian Reserve)
Malaysia is home to Intel’s largest solar farm outside US
US-based semiconductor manufacturer Intel Corp said today its Malaysian operations are now harnessing solar energy to help power its six buildings across its Kulim and Penang campus and that the project is Intel Inc’s largest solar farm outside of the United States. Intel said its solar farm in Malaysia is helped by a new 3.2MW solar installation completed in January this year. “The construction work began in 2020 during the global pandemic which presented many challenges, but nonetheless the solar [photovoltaic (PV)] system was put into operation in January 2021. The completion of this project contributes about 15% of Intel’s global, on-site solar PV electric power capacity. It will also reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 3,800 tonnes,” Intel said. According to Intel’s statement, the new solar farm panels at Intel Malaysia cover an area roughly equivalent to approximately 900 carpark spaces and an additional 50,208 square feet on buildings’ rooftops to generate approximately 6,000MWh of electricity annually. (The Edge)
Explain why demolition for Bangsar project allowed, DBKL told
City Hall (DBKL) has been asked to explain why demolition work for a 34-storey apartment project has been allowed at Jalan Abdullah, Bangsar, when traffic and environmental assessment reports have yet to be submitted. Demolition work had been put on hold previously after complaints by residents to DBKL’s building control department about workers hacking the walls of one of the houses. The residents and Save KL Coalition (SKL) had said it was not right for the developers to begin demolition work as a dilapidation survey had yet to be conducted. Hoardings had been put up on the land, with at least two excavators working there. The once serene housing area is now filled with the noise of demolition work, while the vacant double-storey bungalow that once stood on one of the two plots of land has been flattened. Jalan Abdullah houses some of the oldest remaining residential properties in Bangsar, comprising mostly bungalows and semi-detached houses. Most of the properties were built between 1929 and 1940. Residents have been protesting against the proposed apartment project for more than a year now. They claimed they had not been consulted. (Free Malaysia Today)
